A digest of EMSC Program News and Activities
Issue #44 | Dec. 19, 2019
An important new review article published in Pediatrics in November, Children with Minor Blunt Head Trauma Presenting to the Emergency Department, summarizes current evidence on the initial management of children with minor blunt head trauma. Minor blunt head trauma …
Read MoreHot off the presses, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will simultaneously publish/early release online the joint policy statement titled “Pediatric Readiness in Emergency Medical Services Systems” with the American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Nurses Association, National …
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EMSC was prominently present at the National Healthcare Coalition and Preparedness Conference in early December in Houston, TX. Dr. Kate Remick, EIIC Executive Lead delivered one of the keynote talks “Day-to-Day Pediatric Readiness: One Step Closer to Disaster Preparedness." Drs. Brent Kaziny and DeAnna Dahl Grove also spoke at the conference and led a pediatric workshop on the Pediatric Surge Annex.
Pictured to the right are: Katherine Schafer (New Mexico State Partnership Manager), Dr. Remick and Oscar Enriquez (Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Dell Children's Medical Center and Subject Matter Expert for the Pediatric Readiness Quality Collaborative).
Check out this October news piece on a special ambulance designed for Blank Children’s Hospital in Iowa. The video and article describe a rig specifically equipped for pediatric transports in the Iowa Great Plains. Included in the design are an extra row of seats in the cab to carry family members to the facility so they can travel with the child receiving care. It provides a camera view of the activities in the patient care space. The truck is also equipped with large animal detection technology and protection for trips in poorly lit and scantly populated areas. It also has a special ceiling designed to distract children being transported allowing practitioners to calm them during transport. Video and text from Iowa station 13 WHOtv can be found here.
As of November 13, 2019, 49 states have reported 2,172 e-cigarette, or vaping, product use–associated lung injury cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 42 associated deaths. Given that this situation is a public health emergency, EMSC stakeholders might find the following Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles of interest:
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also has resources available on e-cigarettes.
Environmental exposures can lead to or result from emergencies and natural disasters. The regional Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) are dedicated to increasing knowledge about environmental medicine among health professionals regarding children’s environmental health. The PEHSU National Classroom offers educational opportunities that include the ability to obtain continuing education for various audiences. Also see the AAP Children and Disasters website for content on specific disasters, including floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.
NIOSH has released a virtual tool kit for First Responders on how to protect themselves to exposure illicit drugs. The tool kit includes short training videos and sharable infographics that cover protection when illicit drugs may be present and when they are present, what PPE to wear, and how to decontaminate themselves and their equipment. Other resources based on key points from NIOSH recommendations are also included in the virtual took kit.
In November, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS ASPR) updated their Pediatric Disaster Topic Collection from TRACIE (Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange). This Collection provides resources that can help healthcare facilities, healthcare coalitions, and other health and medical providers to consider the specialized care and resources needed for children prior to, during, and after an incident. Resources are categorized in topics that include Access and Functional Needs; Burns; Explosives and Mass Shootings; Family Reunification and Support; Healthcare Facility Evacuation/ Sheltering; and Hospital Surge Capacity and Immediate Bed Availability.
Resources for Emergency Planners
Emergencies and disasters can happen at any time, often without warning. Disaster planning, response, and recovery efforts must consider the unique needs and abilities of children, who make up roughly a quarter of the U.S. population. For example:
Youth preparedness and including youth in emergency management is an essential part of engaging the whole community. As you and your organization prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, use the resources on this page to explore how you can provide services that assist youth and families with children.
Check out Ready.gov for more!
Kathleen Adelgais, MD, MPH is a Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, CO. She serves as the Principal Investigator and Project Director for the Colorado EMS for Children State Partnership program, is the past-chair of the Pediatrics Committee for National Association EMS Physicians, and previously represented the American Academy of Pediatrics on the board of directors for Committee on the Accreditation EMS Programs. She also serves as the scientific advisor for the Aurora Fire Department EMS affiliate role in PEM-NEWS node within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Nationally, she represents the Pediatric Emergency Physician Sector on the National EMS Advisory Council. Dr. Adelgais has joined Rachael Alter as co-lead of the Prehospital Domain.
Dwayne K. Lopes, RRT, NPS joins the EIIC as an EMSC State Partnership Representative, providing technical support to states on the West Coast and the Pacific Islands. Dwayne has 11 years experience as the Hawaii Emergency Medical Services for Children State Partnership Program Manager and 12 years serving as the Hawai’i State Department of Health, Emergency Medical Services & Injury Prevention Systems Branch, and Emergency Medical Services Program Specialist V position.
Tom Winkler, RN, MSN, is an EMSC State Partnership Representative, providing technical support to states on the East Coast. He obtained his Master of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University and currently works as an Emergency Department RN at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. Prior to nursing, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from Penn State University and served as the EMS for Children Program Manager for Pennsylvania from 2013 to 2017. He has worked in EMS since 2010 and continues to function as a prehospital provider.
Michelson, K. A. (2019). It's Time to Get Serious about Pediatric Readiness. The Journal of pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.10.045
Whitfill, T. M., Remick, K. E., Olson, L. M., Richards, R., Brown, K. M., Auerbach, M. A., & Gausche-Hill, M. (2019). Statewide pediatric facility recognition programs and their association with pediatric readiness in emergency departments in the United States. The Journal of pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.10.017
All State Partnership Managers, please ensure your agency lists updated in the list management system by Dec 20. The survey launches Tuesday, January 7, 2020. Questions? Contact your NEDARC TA liaison.
NICHD recently published a Request for Information (RFI): NICHD Vision for Multisite Clinical Trials Infrastructure (NOT-HD-19-041). The purpose is to solicit input from the public on its vision for supporting multisite clinical trials infrastructure. It is important for NICHD to receive input from the field. Input should be provided by Friday, December 20, 2019.
The EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center addresses the entire continuum of care for children. Acute inpatient rehabilitation is an important component of the trauma system. Our Trauma team has been working with a group of national experts in pediatric rehabilitation to clearly define processes for the initiation of rehabilitation therapies for children who have been hospitalized following a traumatic brain injury. This highly skilled group of pediatric experts is comprised of physical medicine and rehab physicians, trauma surgeons, a neuropsychiatrist and speech, physical and occupational therapists representing children’s hospitals and pediatric rehabilitation programs across the country.
The first product of the workgroup’s efforts was a poster entitled Evidence for the Timing of Rehabilitation Services Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury. This work was presented by Dr. Christian Niedzwecki at the Pediatric Trauma Society’s annual conference in San Diego, CA on November 15, 2019. (See next page for an image of the poster.)
Stay tuned for updates as more work is done to raise awareness and educate providers about the importance of rehabilitation services provided to children than will improve outcomes in pediatric trauma care.
NHTSA and AHRQ Kick Off Systematic Review of Prehospital Airway Management. Comment period open until December 20, 2019.
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